Strong For Too Long
by Youtoberz
Summary: Takes place after the Faudo arc. Zatch is experiencing internal conflicts about the battles he has fought until now. He has reached his limit and snapped; now he spends his days in Kiyo's room to hide from the terrors that the battle can bring. Kiyo invites Tia over in the hopes that she can bring back Zatch's former self.


On the outside you see a cute and innocent boy who loves to play and have fun. On the inside you can tell he is a caring and determined fighter who will protect his friends while showing mercy to his enemies. He sticks to his morals and carries on the will of his many lost comrades. But there are some things that nobody is able to see. Deep down lies a frightened child constantly worried about what will be lost next. He fears losing the battle he has poured his blood and soul into and fears letting down those who have helped him down the path he chose for himself.

During a cloudy afternoon in Mochinoki City Zatch was stuck lying on the floor in Kiyo's room. Zatch didn't feel any desire to do anything and stared at the ceiling with empty eyes. Kiyo sensed Zatch's change in personality and called Tia over to visit him.

Kiyo was on the phone, "Hey Megumi, is Tia there?" Kiyo asked Megumi.

"Yes, she's right here." Megumi replied, "Is everything okay Kiyo?"

"No. Something is wrong with Zatch. He's been quiet lately, very quiet. He doesn't go out of the house anymore. All he does is lay down. I think he's really upset." Kiyo said with worry.

"Oh my, that doesn't sound like Zatch at all. We'll be over soon." Megumi said.

Kiyo was relieved that Megumi could come over as well, he thought she would be too busy. "Thanks a bunch Megumi, you're the best." Kiyo replied with relief.

Megumi giggled for a second and blushed, but became serious again and said, "Keep an eye on him until we get there." Megumi then hung up the phone.

Megumi and Tia were walking to Kiyo's house. "I'm so happy we get to spend time with Kiyo and Zatch today!" Tia said cheerfully. Tia looked at Megumi to find some form of agreement but all she found was some kind of unpleasant feeling coming from the idol.

"Megumi, are you okay?" asked a worried Tia.

Megumi was thinking about Zatch and snapped back into reality when Tia called her name. "Oh, yes I'm alright." Megumi lied.

Tia kept looking at Megumi, keeping eye to eye contact. Megumi knew Tia would find out eventually so she thought Tia should be prepared for what she was about to see. Megumi sighed and said, "It's about Zatch."

Tia instantly panicked, "Zatch? What's wrong with Zatch?" before Megumi could respond Tia stopped in her tracks and asked fearfully, "He... he wasn't sent back to the demon world... was he?" Just asking was enough to make Tia start tearing up.

Megumi pulled Tia into a soft embrace, "No, no, Tia. Zatch is still here. He's alright, he's at Kiyo's house I promise." Megumi consoled Tia. "But he's not feeling like himself Tia." Megumi admitted.

"What do you mean?" Tia asked, wiping away her own tears.

"I don't know yet Tia." Megumi replied, "But that's why we're going over there; so we can find out what's wrong and help."

"Okay. Then let's go right now! Tia said impatiently as she started walking again, she wanted to be with Zatch.

"Okay, okay." Megumi said as she followed the impatient Tia.

Kiyo kept a sharp eye on Zatch, just as Megumi said. He then heard the doorbell and went down stairs to see Megumi and Tia at his doorstep; they were wet from the rain that must have started not too long ago.

"Hey you guys. Thanks for coming over." Kiyo said.

"Kiyo? Where's Zatch?" Tia asked worriedly.

"Follow me." Kiyo instructed. The two girls followed Kiyo up the stairs and stood at Kiyo's door.

Kiyo opened the door and said with fake but convincing enthusiasm, "Hey Zatch, look who came over."

Zatch looked up to see Megumi with a worried look on her face and Tia with a small smile. Zatch finally said, "Hey guys."

Tia felt stunned, Zatch always had a special touch to his words whether it was enthusiasm or anger or just anything. She never heard Zatch sound so plain. Tia forced herself to say, "Hey Zatch, I came over to see you."

Zatch replied, "Oh. Well you saw me so I guess you can go now."

This shocked everyone else. Kiyo wanted to yell at Zatch for sounding so cruel. Megumi couldn't believe what she just heard, "_This can't be Zatch._" Megumi thought. Tia was hurt really badly by Zatch's remark. She wanted to cry but hid it deep down and retorted with rage, "What did you just say to me? I'm going to pulverize you!" Tia yelled.

Zatch got to his feet. "Good! Go ahead and do it. At least this time you would have a good reason unlike all the times you hurt me before. What did I ever do to you to deserve all of that bullying you put me through?" Zatch screamed at Tia.

Tia's anger instantly vanished and was replaced with regret and sorrow. She had bullied Zatch in the past. She always thought that she was making him stronger even though she bullied Zatch more out of anger rather than trying to make him grow up. But now could she had been wrong? Did Zatch need comfort more than harshness? Was her bullying causing Zatch to be in the state that he is right now?

Tia was at a loss for words and a painful looked rested upon her face. "Zatch..." Tia said, trying to find something to say.

Zatch started walking towards Tia, "Come on! Hit me, strangle me! I know you have the guts so why don't you do it? Tia!" Zatch yelled. There was only a foot gap between Zatch and Tia at this point.

Tia took a step in, closing the gap between them, and wrapped her arms tightly around Zatch. "Zatch that's enough!" Tia yelled as she started sobbing.

Zatch didn't want people touching him, "Tia let me go!" Zatch roared as he struggled to free himself.

Tia only embraced Zatch tighter and refused to let go. She held on as hard as she could. Megumi and Kiyo came to her aid and tried calming Zatch down by trying to holding him.

Zatch snapped and roared at the top of his lungs, "LET ME GO!" Zatch struck Tia's cheek with his fist.

Everything stopped, as if time had come to a standstill. The only thing that moved was Tia's face from the force of the punch. Even though the punch was fierce Tia withstood it and still clung to Zatch with wide opened eyes that looked in disbelief at the boy that stood before her and blood trickled from her mouth.

Zatch stared deeply into Tia's face. His anger turned into confusion at his own self. "_How did it come to this? Why did I hurt Tia?_" Zatch asked himself. Guilt started pilling onto Zatch as he stared at Tia; as if his former self was reflected through her; he was ashamed of who he was now. Zatch retracted the arm he used to hurt Tia and pressed both of his hands against his face.

Lightning struck from the storm and thunder roared. "UUOOOOOOOO!" Zatch yelled before breaking down into agonizing sobbing. Tia was devastated that Zatch punched her. It may have left a small wound on her cheek but it left a scar on her heart. Regardless of her own pain Tia pulled Zatch closer and brought him into a caring embrace.

Kiyo and Megumi wrapped their arms around the two children. Megumi started crying, she couldn't believe that Zatch would hurt Tia. Kiyo was humiliated with himself, "_How could I let Zatch fall this far? It's as if I'll only be there for Zatch if it's a battle. Zatch for you to punch a friend must mean that you've been suffering for a very long time. I'm so sorry I didn't help you Zatch." _Kiyo thought as he cried.

After a few minutes on nonstop crying Zatch finally managed to say, "I'm... so... sorry... Tia..." It was extremely hard and painful for Zatch to speak but he had to tell Tia that he regrets harming her. Zatch wrapped his arms tightly around her; he needs her comfort.

Tia softly whispered, "It's okay Zatch, everything will be okay." Tia then turned to Kiyo and Megumi, "Can you guys leave us alone for awhile? There are some things I have to tell Zatch in private." Kiyo was about to argue but Megumi grabbed his hand which caused Kiyo to look into Megumi's face. It was as if Megumi was pleading with Kiyo without even saying anything. Kiyo walked out of the room with Megumi.

Zatch kept apologizing, over and over again. It felt like it was the only way to repent what he had just done. The truth was that even if everyone forgave Zatch he could never forgive himself.

"Tia... I'm so sorry... It's just we're in a deadly battle to determine the king of our world and so many horrible things happened that hurt me still. I lost so many friends and even though they entrusted me with their will it added to the many burdens that have been left with me. I'm so scared that one day I'll lose and disappoint the many people who put their hopes on me. It's so much stress and I'm just a small boy Tia!" Zatch cried out.

"Shh... there there Zatch..." Tia said as she tried consoling him.

"Tia, please burn my book." Zatch said suddenly.

Tia backed up to look at Zatch. "W-What are you saying Zatch? I can't do that! I need you! Don't you want to become a kind king?" Tia asked, trying desperately to change his mind.

"What kind of king harms his friends." Zatch replied, having lost all of his confidence in himself. "I'm not qualified to be king now. If I became king the way I am now it would be an insult to all the people who trusted me."

Tia would not let Zatch lose under any circumstances, "It would be an insult to all the people who helped you get this far just to see you throw in the towel. You just need to be you Zatch. And right now you're not yourself. We're all here for you; me, Kiyo, Megumi, Ponygon, and many more people will help you get through this."

"But Tia-" Zatch started.

"But nothing!" Tia roared, "I will not let you lose this battle! I will make sure you become king even if I have to pummel you and drag you to the throne!"

Zatch was confused, "What about you? Don't you want to be the king?" Zatch asked.

Tia finally admitted, "No, I don't. Ever since I met you I gave up on being the demon world king. I gave up because I knew you were much more fit to be the king than I was."

Zatch was in shock, "Then why have you been in this battle all this time?" he asked.

"To fight alongside of you and to make sure you were okay. I want to protect you Zatch, even if it's from yourself." Tia admitted as she backed away a little bit but still had a strong grip on Zatch's hands.

Tia's self sacrifice was a lot for Zatch to take in. "_All this time she was fighting for me? All these agonizing months and her goal was just to help me?_" Zatch thought. He started crying again and felt a new pain in his heart, "_How can Tia be this strong when her only objective was to help me?_" Zatch thought and finally asked, "Why would you go that far for me?" Zatch practically shouted this question.

Tia looked down, thinking over her words carefully and looked back up and pressed one of her hands against Zatch's cheek. "Huh?" Zatch asked from the comfort of Tia's hand.

Tia smiled and finally admitted, "Because I love you Zatch, you big dork."

Zatch was stunned for awhile; once he regained sense in his body he clung to Tia once more; tightly wrapping his arms around her and sobbed uncontrollably.

Tia returned the hug and stroked Zatch's hair as she kept whispering, "I love you." over and over again into his ear.

Slowly Tia's comfort cleansed Zatch's from his despair and depression. Zatch knew Tia fought hard to protect him and would throw herself in the line of fire just for his sake. Zatch realized just how important Tia is to him and knew if she ever disappeared there would be a hole in his heart that nothing could ever fill. Zatch said without doubt, "I love you too Tia."

Even amidst everything that had happened, Zatch's words tugged at Tia's heart strings. Her smile returned and her cheeks became rosy. She held Zatch tighter as he continued to sob on her shoulder.

As Zatch was crying uncontrollably Tia confessed, "I'm sorry I was so hard on you. I have anger problems that I can't control but you never deserved all of the harsh things I did to you. I know I hurt you a lot, I hurt you more than I did to anyone else in fact." Tia started crying painfully again, "But I just want you to know that even though I may not be good at showing it I care so much about you and I can't stand the thought of you being in pain. I want to protect you Zatch; you're the most important person in the world to me. After I was betrayed you taught me how to trust again, you made me experience happiness again. That's why I'll do anything in the world as long as it's for you, because I love you Zatch. So will you please stay here with me?" Tia pleaded.

"Of course I'm staying Tia." Zatch rose from her shoulder and Tia saw his smiling face; something that she has been longing to see. Zatch went on, "How could I go back when you're still here? Besides I still have a lot of promises to keep and I still need to become a kind king."

Tia couldn't believe it, it was too good to be true. She got Zatch back, the real Zatch. Tia's crying turned into hard sobbing as she yelled, "Don't you ever scare me like that ever again Zatch Bell!" Tia burrowed her face into Zatch's shoulder.

"Don't worry Tia." Zatch consoled her, "I'm back and I'm here to stay. Thank you for saving me again."

After a few minutes Tia managed to calm down and big smile rested on her face. She was happy she got Zatch back and she was glad to see his innocent smile once more. Tia remembered about Kiyo and Megumi and said, "We should probably go see our partners now. They're probably worried."

"Unuu, let's go." Zatch said. Tia was glad to hear Zatch say "Unuu" because it was only something the real Zatch would say.

Tia took Zatch's hand and shyly said, "Wait Zatch! There's something I want to give to you first..."

"Nuu? What's that Tia?" Zatch asked.

Tia closed her eyes and planted a kiss on Zatch's cheek making his face a little rosy. After the kiss Tia whispered into Zatch's ear, "I love you." She pulled her face away and blushed. Tia said with a smiling face, "Okay, now let's go!"

Zatch was a little shocked but replied happily, "Un... Unuu!"

They ran down the stairs to see Kiyo and Megumi on the couch. Kiyo had an arm around Megumi while Megumi rested her head on his shoulder. They both looked really upset.

"Hey guys!" Tia announced.

Both Kiyo and Megumi flinched and before turning to see her they yelled at the same time, "Tia! How is Zatch?" Then their eyes met the two children. Tia and Zatch were holding hands and the teenagers' hearts skipped a beat when they saw Zatch's heartfelt smile again. Zatch was back to his normal self.

"Yea everything is fine now." Tia spoke as she let go of Zatch's hand to embrace him while still looking at the teenagers, Zatch did the same.

"Zatch!" Kiyo and Megumi yelled happily at the same time as they ran over to the children to start a group hug.

During the hug Zatch responded childishly, "I didn't know you missed me that much, it's only been a few minutes since you last saw me!"

Kiyo was the first to reply. "It's good to have you back, you idiot." Kiyo said with a smile.

"I'm glad you're our Zatch again." Megumi said with happy tears. Megumi looked at Tia and thought, "_I don't know what you did Tia; but you did a great job._"

They spent the day happily together as if the events from earlier in the day never took place. The storm passed and was replaced with blue skies and sunshine so they went to the park where Kiyo and Megumi pushed their respective partners on the swing set.

"I bet I can go higher than you!" Zatch challenged Tia.

"Oh you wanna bet? Megumi push harder!" Tia playfully ordered.

It wasn't long until Zatch went too high and fell off the swing but Kiyo caught him. They laughed but Tia thought she was going to have a heart attack from Zatch's fall.

They later went to the beach to swim and play in the sand. When they got there Tia wanted to make a sand palace for herself and Zatch to live in as king and queen.

"Hey Zatch let's make a sand castle together! Zatch?" Tia asked as she wondered where he went. She then saw huge splashes in the water and was barely able to see a blond haired boy. Tia said out loud, "Ugh that idiot! _But I'm glad he's my idiot again..._" Tia thought the last part and started smiling.

Tia decided to join Zatch in the ocean to start a splash fight and other fun activities. It was a lot of fun for the both of them until they got tired so they started to relaxingly swim together, enjoying each other's company and held hands as they both smiled. "_This is way better than making a castle._" Tia thought as her smile intensified.

Zatch noticed Tia smiling and happily said, "Tia, you're smiling so brightly!"

"It's because I'm really happy!" Tia said happily.

"Unuu! And why's that?" Zatch asked.

Tia let go of Zatch's hand and playfully wrapped her arms around him bringing him into a tight embrace. Tia said in almost a yell, "Because I'm with you!"

Zatch returned the hug and stayed like that for awhile until Tia said, "Zatch, look at the sunset. It's so pretty."

Zatch looked and the view was spectacular. He hasn't seen it until now because he was too focused on Tia. The once blue sky became a mixture of different shades of orange and yellow and the sun was resting on the edge of the ocean. "Wow Tia, it's so pretty!" Zatch said happily.

Tia noticed they were pretty far into the ocean; so far in fact that they were practically alone. Tia looked at Zatch and started blushing. She contemplated whether or not to do something with Zatch and finally decided to push her shyness aside this time. "Hey Zatch? Can you close your eyes for a second?" Tia asked.

"Unuu. But why?" Zatch wondered.

"It's a surprise." Tia said as her blush intensified.

Zatch closed his eyes, "Don't peek." he heard Tia silently say.

Something pressed against his lips and all of a sudden Zatch felt lighter. His body went numb and he experience a form of happiness he had never experienced before, _bliss_. It felt like decades were passing by and when the feeling went away it really had only been about ten seconds.

"You can open your eyes now... Zatch." Zatch heard Tia say softly.

Zatch opened his eyes to see Tia with a mad blush across her face. She had a soft smile and was shaking a little bit but still had her arms softly around Zatch.

"Tia... what did you do? Did you ki-" Zatch asked before he was cut off.

"One day you'll understand Zatch." Tia said, "But for right now we should go back to Kiyo and Megumi."

"Un...Unuu." Zatch said still confused about what just took place. But no matter what, Zatch knew whatever he felt, he liked every moment of it.

When the two children returned to their partners they discovered that Megumi and Kiyo decided to go to a restaurant to eat out tonight and the children happily tagged along. They were sitting at a booth; Zatch sitting beside Tia and Kiyo sitting beside Megumi.

Zatch looked through the menu three times and asked, "Hey Kiyo? Where is the yellowtail on here?"

Kiyo wasn't in the mood to yell or lecture Zatch after what happened earlier so he just said, "They don't have any Zatch. It's okay, you can just get something else."

"What! No yellowtail? Zatch yelled.

"Zatch it's okay." Tia said trying to make Zatch quiet down, "I'll come over tomorrow and bring you fresh yellowtail."

"Nuu? Do you really mean it Tia?" Zatch said, looking happy again.

"Yes, I'll bring you as much yellowtail as you can eat!" Tia confidently replied.

That wasn't what Zatch was looking for, "No, are you really coming over again tomorrow?" Zatch asked.

Tia was lost in thought, "_What? Between his desire for yellowtail and me he wants me more_?" Tia started blushing. She often got angry in the past because of Zatch's yellowtail obsession but now it was her turn to be on top of Zatch's priorities. Tia started blushing and happily said, "Y-Yes. I'll come over as early as I can tomorrow." Tia said.

This made Zatch happy, "Unuu! Thanks Tia!"

Everyone ordered their food and were satisfied with their meal, even with the lack of yellowtail. It was dark and it was time for everyone to head home but before that Tia wanted to say goodbye to Zatch.

Zatch was the first to speak, "I wish you didn't have to go but I can't wait to see you tomorrow Tia!" Zatch said happily.

Tia noticed that even though he was smiling Zatch had a sad look on his face. She wrapped her arms around Zatch and said, "Aww Zatch, don't worry. I'll be back tomorrow."

"You promise?" Zatch asked.

"I promise." Tia replied confidently.

Tia knew she couldn't stay forever so she finally said, "Goodbye Zatch. See you tomorrow!" Tia once again kissed Zatch's cheek.

Zatch was once again stunned; he saw Tia blush and turn away to walk home with Megumi. Once he snapped back into reality he waved his hand in the air and said, "See you tomorrow Tia!"

Even though the sun had set on this beautiful day it only meant that it was preparing an even better tomorrow. The possibilities that tomorrow could bring can make a person look more toward the future than cling to the past. Zatch realized these things and started looking toward the future that he made sure Tia would be a part of. His past may have been harsh but now that only gives him more motivation to make a beautiful future; to make a tomorrow so great that it would completely overshadow the terrors of yesterday.


End file.
